Cornell Assistantship for Horticulture in Africa (CAHA)

CAHA Application update

The first Cornell Assistantship for Horticulture in Africa (CAHA) was awarded to Mr. Charles Wasonga from Kenya . The purpose of the assistantship is to provide a doctoral assistantship in the Graduate Field of Horticulture to a student from Sub-Saharan Africa. Course work is completed at Cornell University while dissertation research is conducted primarily in Africa under the supervision of a local thesis advisor. The assistantship will require 15–20 hours per week of teaching and/or research responsibilities.

Charles sums up his first year of “Being a Cornellian” this way:

“Life at Cornell has been such a wonderful experience for me ever since I came to the US in August 2006. Arriving in summer just before the start of Fall semester, the luxuriant growth and unique flower color displays by diverse plant species within the lovely campus were such a beauty to behold. The lovely setting of the campus and great facilities together with very friendly and helpful people that I met helped me a great deal to settle down on class work after having been off books for sometime. Getting to know just how the people here cared was such a humbling experience and it made the whole place such a perfect one for learning. My experience in class during Fall semester was great as it entailed interacting with lively and experienced instructors on one hand and on the other hand students from different cultural backgrounds and different academic disciplines. Throughout the different classes, perspectives that came through during instruction and discussions were very current and as diverse as the different people I encountered. I made many friends in the process. During the semester I also had discussions with a number students and faculty with regard to how best I could approach the task of assembling an advisory committee that would guide throughout my program. Following the discussions I have identified members for the committee and made consultations with them several times with regard to the focus of my program. It has therefore been smooth sailing for me so far and now with the start of Spring semester, I only look forward with great anticipation to an even sweeter experience.”